Big Numbers

I’m finished with finals at last. Who knows how they’ll come out, but it’s a relief to be done at the moment. I’m finally getting my room clean, my laundry done, my presents bought, and my social life reanimated. And I’m looking at an introductory (very introductory) AI textbook here.

Also, for those looking for a non-corny holiday movie, I recommend seeing Holiday while it’s still on Hulu. Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and a surprisingly modern story about following your own path.

NASA scientist Felisa Wolfe Simon has discovered a microbe with a different molecular structure than all life on Earth. While our molecules are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, these single-celled organisms use arsenic in place of phosphorus. Its DNA is different from the DNA of all other life. This is the most alien creature we know.